Lucie Thomas and Thibault Zimmermann of French art studio Zim & Zou have created jungle creatures using Hermès leftover leather scraps.
The development of the idea came from the commission of creating a meticulously arranged parrot for an exhibition arranged by Hermes designer Hilton McConnico.
McConnico related Hermès to the designers’ project Cabinet de Curiosites with the attention for details and craftsmanship, such perceived kinship led to the result of populating the forest with more creatures.
These creatures are made by sculpting the shape, and then covered with small leather pieces that are cut out by hand from leather leftovers.
Zimmerman shares these sculptures did not require a lot of leather. "We always keep in mind that even if we are working with leather offcuts we need to use it in the wisest way to save the most fabric we can."
On the other hand, environmentally friendly PEFC paper sheets were needed to build the 600 leaves for the background of the jungle.
Each animal takes about 200 hours to complete but Zimmerman believes such effort consists more of “patience and precision rather than technicality”.
[via Styleite]